Philippine myths and folklores

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Philippine Myths and Folkloresinclude a collection of tales and superstitions about magical creatures and entities. Some Filipinos, even though heavily westernized and Christianized, still believe in such entities. The prevalence of belief in the figures of Philippines mythology is strong in the provinces.The stories of ancient Philippine mythology include deities, creation stories, mythical creatures, and beliefs. Ancient Philippine mythology varies among the many indigenous tribes of the Philippines. Some groups during the pre-Spanish conquest era believed in a single Supreme Being who created the world and everything in it, while others chose to worship a multitude of tree and forest deities (diwatas). Diwatas came from the Sanskrit word devata which means "deity", one of the several significant Hindu influences in the Pre-Hispanic religion of the ancient Filipinos. Below are some of the gods and goddesses of the ancient Philippines

Philippine Mythical Creatures

Philippine folklore, unlike Greek or Romanmythologies, has not been organized into a formal pantheon, does not generally contain long epics, nor has it been relegated to history. To this day, Philippine myths still have an active role in the lives of rural Filipinos. The countless myths circulating throughout the Filipino countryside contain a large variety of mythical creatures. Although there is no scientific evidence for any of these creatures, there is also no shortage in the rural parts of the Philippines of people who believe firmly in their existence. This discrepancy is sometimes rationalized by the explanation that only pure and good mortals are able to see these creatures.

Traditionally, people create mythology to explain the world around them. Before science and empirical reasoning, myths and legends served mankind by invoking the supernatural to interpret natural events, to explain the nature of the universe, and shed light on the purpose of existence. Filipino mythology is no different. Filipino legends contain a broad spectrum of stories including legends recounting the birth of the Philippine islands, as well as accounts of supernatural creatures that are sometimes invoked to inspire fearful obedience in children or explain disease.